Kāwili Kine Cultures

Students during the pandemic felt isolated and desperate to engage with others. We think that the Kāwili Kine Cultures program served its purpose because the speakers and huakaʻi (excursions) hosts were willing to welcome the students into their space and let them see the beauty and rich history and culture of Hawaiʻi Island. The Kāwili Kine Cultures program gave students living on campus at UH Hilo the chance to explore our amazing natural setting. Students were extremely grateful for the opportunity to see the island as well as the transportation and meals that were provided to them on the weekend huakaʻi.

The intent of the Kawili Kine Cultures program was to provide students with two-part weekly in-person activities. The first part the students sat through a lecture presentation by a respected faculty and or community member speaking about a relevant intercultural and/or Hawaiʻi focused topic that would heighten the students' awareness of the culture and history of Hawaii Island while studying at UH Hilo. The program included a Thursday afternoon presentation, after which the students were invited to partake in a weekend huaka that complemented the speaker's presentation. Since the huaka would go beyond the on-campus dining hours, the Kāwili Kine Cultures program provided students with a meal. Oftentimes, this allowed the students and the speakers to further engage and speak more freely about the topic and place that they were visiting.